Spike in Saudi Mers cases sparks outbreak fears ahead of Hajj
Since March, at least nine people have been infected with the virus, a close but far more deadly cousin of Covid-19, the Saudi Arabian health ministry has said. Two have died.
Six of the most recent cases were in healthcare workers, who were infected from a single symptomatic patient in a hospital in Riyadh.
However, the source of infection remains unknown in two cases, sparking fears that the virus could be spreading in the wider Saudi community under the radar.
Airfinity, the disease analytics firm, warned the cases 'raise the risk of outbreaks and potential international spread amidst the upcoming Hajj when millions will gather.'
In several pictures of US President Donald Trump's visit to Riyadh earlier this week, waiters and other Saudi bystanders were seen wearing face masks.
The Hajj – which takes place every year in the beginning of June – sees more than three million people confined to a 12-square kilometre area and is famously a breeding ground of respiratory diseases like influenza and bacterial meningitis.
Since 2012, a total of 2613 laboratory-confirmed cases of Mers have been reported globally and more than 80 per cent of those occurred in Saudi Arabia. The case fatality rate is 36 per cent.
Covid-19's case fatality rate, by comparison, ranges between 0.1 per cent to 5 per cent, depending on the country and time period, according to John Hopkins University.
Mers is a zoonotic virus carried by camels and can be contracted via touching infected animals, consuming their meat or milk, or eating food that has been contaminated with camel faeces, urine, or spit.
Human to human transmission, via respiratory droplets, is generally confined to enclosed hospital settings but there have been instances of household and community transmission.
The main symptoms include a high temperature, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, diarrhoea, and being sick.
Most people who die from Mers have at least one underlying medical condition like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, or high blood pressure.
There is currently no vaccine available to protect against Mers, although clinical trials are currently underway.
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